Method of decorating and resurfacing metals



Feb. 17, 1942; SMALL 2,273,665

METHOD OF DECORATING AND RESURFACING METALS Filed April 29, 1940 1 294 21 F '19 Ari/w! 2 Small W 7/? WW in ordinary use;

Patented Feb. 17, 1942 UNITED STATES PAT OFFICE METHOD OF DECORATING AND RESURFACIN G LIETALS' Arthur D. Small, Lake Cable, Ohio, assignor of one-third to Otto G. Krayer, Massillon, Ohio Application April 29, 1940, Serial No. 332,260 12 Claims.v (Cl. 41- 18) The invention relates to a method of ornamenting or decorating or resurfacing stainless steel, tin, and chromium to produce a desired surface or any design by the precipitation and amalgamation of metallic salts such as mercury, potassium, silver, nickel, copper, gold, and cobalt to the surface of the metal. 4

Since stainless steel has come into quite general use for building construction, furniture, and

the like'it has been found desirable to ornament or decorate the exposed surfaces of stainless steel sheets with pleasing designs in order to break up the monotony of the smooth high polished surface.

' Attempts have been made to etch these designs into the stainless steel, but the effects produced are not satisfactory, and for many uses are not practical since the metal is eaten away at the points where it is etched, leaving rough depressions in the surface of the metal in which dirt2 0 and dust accumulates making the same unsightly as well as unsanitary.

The'method' most generally used for ornamenting or decorating the surface of stainless steel is to provide a mask of paper having a more or less simple design cut therein, the paper mask being pasted or cemented to the surface of the stainless. steel to be ornamented covering the portions of the surface which are to remain bright and polished and exposing only those por- Furthermore, only more or less simple designs which can be cut in a stencil can be produced. Moreover, this Tampico brush process requires considerable time to place the ornamentation'or decorationupon each sheet of stainless steel,

thus, making it a very expensive method for commercially decorating stainless steel.

The'present invention contemplates a process for ornamenting stainless steel which will rapidly and efliciently produce any desired design or eifect,'decorating the stainless steel with a satin finish design which does not mar the surface of .the stainless steel as an etching, thus, overcoming theobjections to that method of decorating,

and which is amalgamated with'the stainless.

steel so as to prevent the ornamentation from wearing oil" in use.

Another object is the provision of a process by means of which any design or configuration which can be reproduced by photography may be producedupon the stainless steel.

The above objects together with others which will be apparent from the drawing and following description or which will be later referred to,

-may*be attained by carrying out the improved process for ornamenting stainless steel in the manner hereinafter described in detail and illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which Figure 1 isanelevation of a polished metal sheet to be ornamented by the improved method;

Fig. 2, an elevation of a silk screen stencil having-a design or ornamentation to be placed upon the stainless steel sheet;

Fig. 3, an elevation of the stainless steel sheet "showing the mask placed thereon by the silk screen;

Fig. 4, an elevation of the stainless steel sheet showing the ornamentation or design in satin finish, and the remainder of the surface of the sheet with the original polished finish; and

.Fig. 5, a greatly enlarged fragmentary cross sectional view of a small portion of the ornamented sheet showing the manner in which the ornamentation is deposited upon and amalgamated with the surface portion of the stainless steel.

Similarv numerals refer to throughout the, several views.

similar parts a A very important part of the process consists in subjecting the surface portions of the stainless steel to be ornamented to a solution containing metallic. salts, the portions of the surface of the stainless steel sheet which are not to be ornamented being masked in any suitable manner.

Because of the unlimited effects which may be .obtained and the rapidity with which the process may be carried out, I prefer to use a silk screen stencil or rubber printing roll for masking the stainless steel surfaces to be ornamented although the processmay be carried out with the :use of Various other known forms of masking such as by printing press or with the well-known .paper stencil. 1 The'silk screen stencil is quite well-known and comprises a frame ll) of wood or metal having stretched thereon bolting cloth, silk, organdy, or other suitable open mesh fabric as indicated at H.

Theidesign may be placed upon the fabric screening by any usual and well-knownprocess such as direct photography, transfer photograph, carbon tissue, gelatin, hand out glue, paper, lacquer, Celluloid, shellac, filled or film.

Such a design is indicated at l2 in Fig. 2i, and the remaining portions of the fabric II is not covered but remains in its original condition.

In carrying out the process the silk screen stencil as shown in Fig. 2, is placed upon the stainless steel sheet I3 indicated in Figure 1, and suitable paint, lacquer, ink or varnish is placed in the silk screen and wiped over the entire surface thereof by means of a rubber squeegee or the like so as to force the paint or other masking material through the open mesh fabric of the screen and onto the surface of the stainless steel sheet placing a mask of the paint or the alcohol and water, the parts being preferably mixed in the following proportions:

Ounces Mercuric nitrate 1 Muriatic acid 1 Ferric chloride /2 Nitric acid /2 Alcohol 4 Water 4 The ordinary commercial nitrate may be used in this solution, or, if desired, the mercury salts for the solution may be made by dissolving 1 oz. of mercury in /2 oz. of muriatic acid and oz. of nitric acid, letting the mixture stand until all of the mercury is dissolved into white crystals. In this case it is not necessary to add nitric acid to the solution.

The solution is preferably made by dissolving the ferric chloride in the water which is first slightly heated.

After the ferric chloride has entirely dissolved, the alcohol is added then the mercuric nitrate or other mercury salts is added, after which the acid or acids are added and stirred.

The solution may be applied to the exposed portions of the stainless steel at atmospheric temperatures although it has been found that the best results are obtained by heating the solution to a temperature of 125 to 140 F.

At temperatures very much above 140 F. the process works so rapidly that the exposed portions of the stainless steel surface become too dark.

The masked stainless steel plate as shown in Fig. 3 may be dipped into a receptacle containing the solution and allowed to remain in the solution for a short time, to seconds giving very good results in actual practice.

The stainless steel is then removed from .the solution and immediately rinsed in clear water which may be either hot or cold and then dried, preferably by heat, in order to expedite the process.

When dried the mask I5 is removed by any suitable solvent depending upon the nature of the mask and the finished decorated sheet may be polished with a soft cloth or bufling wheel if desired.

The finished sheet will appear as shown in Fig. 4, the design appearing thereon in satin finish as shown at [1 while the remainder of the surface of the sheet has the original polished finish as shown at Hi.

It should be understood that the particular process described is only one of many ways in which the invention may be practiced. For instance, if desired, the mask may be made so that the design or ornamentation will appear in the original polished finish while all of the remainder of the surface of the stainless steel will have a satin finish.

It should also be understood that instead of dipping the stainless'steel into a receptacle containing the solution, the stainless steel may be continuously passed through such a solution or the solution may be sprayed upon or otherwise applied to the surfaces to be treated. For instance, in practicing the process to apply stripes, borders or other ornamentation or decoration upon curved surfaces such as stainless steel cooking utensils or kitchen ware, the mask may be applied in any suitable manner and the solution may then be applied to the exposed portions of the stainless steel surface as by a dauber formed of cotton or the like and saturated with the solution.

The finished decorated stainless steel product has a much more pleasing appearance than can be obtained by either etching or the Tampico brush, and overcomes the objections to both of said methods since the surface of the stainless steel is not pitted or eaten away as in etching, but feels perfectly smooth to the touch; and the decoration will not wear off in use as in the Tampico finish since it has been found that stainless steel sheets decorated by the improved process may be subjected to severe buffing without obliterating the design.

Fig. 5 shows a fragmentary cross sectional view of a stainless steel sheet decorated as shown in Fig. 4, which is made from a micro-photograph of a sheet of stainless steel decorated in this manner and magnified times.

Such photographs show that the satin finish is actually a very thin deposit upon the stainless steel surface l8 as indicated at [9 and also an amalgamation with the stainless steel as indicated at 20.

This amalgamation apparently is the reason that the decorated stainless steel sheet may be subjected to severe buffing without removing the decoration therefrom.

It has been found that in cases where the stainless steel has remained in the solution for too long a time, or where the solution may have been hotter than necessary whereby the satin finish produced was a darger gray color than desired, the application of a solution of chromic acid will lighten the color.

A solution containing about 10% of chromic acid has given very good results for this purpose.

From the above it will be seen that the shade of gray of the satin finish may be varied by the length of time that the stainless steel is exposed to the metallic salts solution as well as the temperature of the solution.

The process has also been practiced upon stainless steel having what is known as an oxidized finish, the surface of the stainless steel being highly polished, but almost black in color.

The satin finish produced by the improved process on this oxidized surface makes very pleasing eifects as the decoration or design appears in a light gray satin finish upon the highly polished, dark colored, stainless steel surface.

If desired, a satin finish may be produced over the entire surface of the metal by applying the improved solution to the whole surface instead of masking portions of the surface to produce a design thereon as above described.

Although the process has been described above in detail for the ornamenting or resurfacing of stainless steel, it should be understood that the improved process may be used for decorating or resurfacing other metals, particularly tin coated and chromium plated metal surfaces.

It is also pointed out that instead of applying the solution in a liquid form as above described, any suitable substance which is suitable to produce a pasty consistency, such as tragacanth, gum arabic or corn starch, may be mixed with the solution, and the same may be applied through a suitable silk screen, directly upon the surface of the metal, in the manner that the etching compound is applied to thesurface of glass in McKay Patent No. 2,127,781, dated August 23, 1938.

In this pasty form the solution may also be applied to the portions of the surface to be ornamented, by means of a dauber or the like.

I claim:

1. The method of decorating or resurfacing stainless steel, tin or chromium surfaces which consists in placing a mask having openings therin upon the surface to be decorated, applying a solution containing mercury salts to the portions of the surface exposed through said openings for only a few seconds, rinsing the solution from the surface and removing the mask.

2. The method of decorating or resurfacing stainless steel, tin or chromium surfaces which consists in placing a mask having openings therein upon the surface to be decorated, applying a solution containing metallic salts and. ferric chloride to the portions of the surface exposed through said openings for only a few seconds, rinsing the solution from the surface and removing the mask.

3. The method of decorating or resurfacing stainless steel, tin or chromium surfaces which consists in placing a, mask having openings therein upon the surface to be decorated, applying a solution containing metallic salts, ferric chloride and muriatic acid to the portions of the surface exposed through said openings for only a few seconds, rinsing the solution from the surface and removing the mask.

4. The method of decorating or resurfacing stainless steel, tin or chromium surfaces which consists in placing a mask having openings therein upon the surface to be decorated, applying a solution containing metallic salts, ferric chloride, muriatic acid and alcohol to the portions of the surface exposed through said openings for only a few seconds, rinsing the solution from the surface and removing the mask.

5. The method of decorating or resurfacing stainless steel, tin or chromium surfaces which consists in placing a mask having openings therein upon the surface to be decorated, applying a solution containing metallic salts, ferric chloride, muriatic acid, nitric acid and alcohol to the portions of the surface exposed through said openings for only a few seconds, rinsing the solution from the surface and removing the mask. 6. The method of decorating or resurfacing stainless steel, tin or chromium surfaces which consists in placing a mask having openings therein upon the surface to be decorated, applying a solution containing mercury salts and ferric chloride to the portions of the surface exposed through said openings for only a few seconds, rinsing the solution from the surface and removing the mask.

7. The method of decorating or resurfacing stainless steel, tin or chromium surfaces which consists in placing a mask having openings therein upon the surface to be decorated, applying a solution containing mercury salts, ferric chloride and muriatic acid to the portions of the surface exposed through said openings for only a few seconds, rinsing the solution from the surface and removing the mask.

8. The method of decorating or resurfacing stainless steel, tin or chromium surfaces which consists in placing a mask having openings therein upon the surface to be decorated, applying a solution containing mercury salts, ferric chloride, muriatic acid and alcohol to the portions of the surface exposed through said openings for only a few seconds, rinsing the solution from the surface and removing the mask,

9. The method of decorating or resurfacing stainless steel, tin or chromium surfaces, which consists in placing a mask having openings therein upon the surface to be decorated, applying a solution containing mercury salts, ferric chloride, muriatic acid, nitric acid and alcohol to the portions of the surface exposed through said openings for only a few seconds, rinsing the solution from the surface and removing the mask.

10. The method of decorating or resurfacing stainless steel, tin or chromium surfaces which consists in placing a mask having, openings therein upon the surface to be decorated, applying a solution containing mercury salts, ferric chloride, muriatic acid and alcohol at a temperature of about F. to F. to the portions of the surface exposed through said openings for only a few seconds, rinsing the solution from the surface and removing the mask.

11. The method of decorating stainless steel or chromium surfaces which consists in placing a mask having openings therein upon thesurface to be decorated, applying a solution containing ferric chloride and muriatic acid to the portions of the surface exposed through said openings for only a few seconds, rinsing the solution from the surface and removing the mask.

12. The method of decorating stainless steel or chromium surfaces which consists in placing a mask having openings therein upon the surface to be decorated, applying a solution containing ferric chloride, nitric acid and muriatic acid to the portions of the surface exposed.

through said openings for only a few seconds, rinsing the solution from the surface and removing the mask.

ARTHUR D. SMALL. 

